The Pressure of Being a HOT Mama

Having a child is one of the most beautiful things a women can experience. Along with the baby brings on new experiences, new challenges and also a new body type. It is often depressing, especially to first time moms, when their bodies do not spring back into pre-pregnancy shape, often leaving them with sagging breasts, stretched abdomens, and an overall out of shape body. Motherhood now has a new shape. Many women, although excited about newfound motherhood, are tramatized with insecurity after childbirth due to excessive weight gain in areas which may not have been troublesome before. Women primarily seek two forms of surgery as postpartum "tune-ups", abdominoplasty, commonly referred to as a tummy tuck, and breast enhancement surgery including breast lift and breast augmentation.

We see the issue of the media again coming into play on women and their body image. It's so amazing how celebrity moms drop all their weight within months even weeks. These pressures are so heavily put on the average post-pregnant mom to get back down to their normal size if not smaller. The difference between the celebrity mom and the average mom is that celebrity moms usually don’t undergo plastic surgery, they just hire the best personal trainer and nutritionist there is, while average moms don’t have those resources nor the time to incorporate that type of living into their new lifestyle so they opt for the surgery. However "Good Morning America" medical correspondent Dr. David Katz says there are dangers to new moms if they lose weight too quickly. Katz also had tips for getting back to a healthy weight after giving birth, recommending weight gain during pregnancy between 15 and 30 pounds. A healthy weight loss after giving birth is one pound per week. The best way to lose is a healthy diet, portion control and moderate exercise. These practices as I said earlier would be very difficult for a new mother to find time to do. Also breastfeeding can burn 500 calories a day and this is something that the average mom as well as the celebrity mom can do to lose weight although losing weight too quickly can dry up breast milk, or compromise the nutrients in the breast milk.

The hype centered around mothers loosing their baby weight has inspired Florida plastic surgeon Michael Salzhauer to author the book My Beautiful Mommy, a book aimed at 4-to-7-year-old kids to help them understand plastic surgery. My Beautiful Mommy tells the story of a little girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck and breast implants (this combination is referred to as ’mommy makeover’) along with a nose job for good measure. Before the woman goes into surgery, she explains to her daughter, "You see, as I got older, my body stretched and I couldn't fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better." It's unclear why the mother also chooses rhinoplasty, but she does tell her daughter that the nose will appear "different, my dear—prettier!". The publication of "My Beautiful Mommy" shows that plastic surgery belongs on that laundry list of issues (drugs, sex, alcohol) for parents to discuss at the dinner table and also reinforce the rules of women and beauty. There are some mothers who aren’t fans of the children’s book and say they’ll never read it to their children.

Although abdominoplasty and breast augmentations are the most common forms of cosmetic surgery after childbirth one of the least talked about areas of cosmetic plastic surgery is reconstruction of the external genitalia know as labial surgery, labioplasty, labial reduction, vaginal tightening, and vaginoplasty. It’s not uncommon for women who have given birth to suffer from slackness in the pelvic floor and vaginal muscles. Some may even develop incontinence, which can be embarrassing and damage self-confidence. Taking the surgical route has not only boosted sexual pleasure, it has prevented further genital discomfort and embarrassment. During delivery, tearing and stretching of the genitalia may occur resulting in an abnormal or unattractive appearance. Sometimes an episiotomy is performed which heals poorly, distorting the vaginal entrance. Although I understand what Dr. Salzhauer is trying to do with the creation of his children’s book I would be totally appalled if he came out with a book to explain labial surgery or anything of that nature. That’s where the line should be drawn. Its already bad enough that we are enforcing these images of cosmetic surgery at a young age but if there was something explaining why mommy would have surgery on her private area (because that has nothing to do with your body image and how you look, but how sexually pleasing you are) that would send all kind of negative messages to a daughter and how she should be sexually.

After reading the posting on Carmen from the class I have to say I’d agree most with Jamie Doster when saying “I really don’t know what to think about this article. It was shocking to me. I do understand the need for parents to express to their child what they are going through when they have surgery. But overall, I think that children should grow up believing that they are beautiful and that beauty comes from inside. I think this book gives the wrong impressions to kids, and can increase the desire for kids either male or female to want to have “perfect bodies”. I think this could increase the want for plastic surgery in children, and could cause many problems in the future”.